WOKE.Research.

WOKE. RESEARCH.

The “Woke Research Methodologies” Series is designed to prompt participants to critically explore policies, practices and experiences of people in relation to research in postsecondary contexts. In direct alignment with the ASHE 2018 conference theme, “Envisioning the Woke Academy,” each episode will feature an engaging, conversational interview with critical scholars within and beyond the field of higher education whose perspectives shed light on what it means to engage in woke research. The scholars will define what “woke research” means to them and discuss methodological approaches they use to inform research practices and engage with research processes. The series is designed to encourage viewers to consider the current state of higher education research and the extent to which our collective body of knowledge reflects the values associated with Envisioning (and realizing) The Woke Academy.

Envisioning The “Woke” Academy™ is the theme for the 2018 ASHE Conference in Tampa, FL. Although a fairly recent colloquialism, the term “woke” has become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter Movement and other activist efforts, as well as social media campaigns and hashtags (#staywoke; #getwoke; #bewoke). Being “woke” is meant to encourage a heightened level of consciousness both locally and transnationally regarding societal ills and the need to unabashedly name and dismantle inequitable power structures and their disproportionately negative effects on minoritized peoples. Being “woke” engages us in the envisioning of futures characterized by freedom and emancipatory struggle. To employ Envisioning the “Woke” Academy as a conference theme, critique, and charge, the 2018 ASHE Annual Meeting will provide opportunities for members to engage with ideas and activities that promote critical consciousness, history and memory, intersectionality, transdisciplinarity, representation, and activism.